Flush-valve.



No. 700,487. Patented May 20, 1902.-

J. J. FINNEY.

FLUSH VALVE.

(Application filed ma 27, 1901. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' of the water in the service-pipe.

' valve of this kind that itmust give a full or UNITED STATES JAMES J.FINNEY, 011 oHIoAco, ILLINOIS.

- FLUSH- SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters vALvE.

Patent No. voo svm tea May 20, 1902.

Application filed May 27, 1901. Serial No. 62,071. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES JSFINNYEY, a citizen of the United States gofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and use: ful Improvements inFlush-Valves, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to flush-valves of the character of thoseillustrated inmy pending applications, No. 714,781, filed April 28,1899,and No. 27,359, filed August 20,1900, and has for its objectimprovements in: the .valves therein illustrated. Flush-valves ofthischaracter are intended to be connected directly to ordinary servicewater-pipes on, one side and to an ordinary closet-bowl on the other.Such valves are opened and closed by a movable. piston, which piston ismoved by the pressure Such pressure will under different circumstancesvary from two pounds to two hundred pounds per square inch, and a valvethat is suitable for one pressure is not suitable for another pressureunless there are special appliances whereby it may be made suitable forboth" pressures. It is one of the requirements of a maximum flow ofwater for a definite and predetermined period .of time, which flow mustbe followed by 'aredu edorLminimum flow of water which. shouldbeuniformdn quantity and continuefor. a definiteliperiod of time. 7 It isalso desirable, in fa'ct,practically necessary,- .that the change.frorn-the full flow to the reduced fiow'should be rapid. Anotherrequirement of valves -of this character is that the pistonshouldrcometo its seat for closing the valve withoutjar. These conditions requirethat-the piston have'three variations of movement in its closing motion,1 all of which are controlled. by the waterpressure. The first movementis a quick one for making the changev from'maximum to minimum flow, thesecond movement is a slow one for continuingtheminimum .fiow for adefinite period of ti'me,-and the third .movement is anextremely'slowone,justbefore the valve comes to its sea'tyso that the,actual seating of the valve will not cause a jar or water-hammer.Variations of friction in the valve due to variations of closenessof'fit of Ijection P are also apert the parts will vary the qualities ofthese movements when all other conditions are the same, also with avalve having a given amount of friction in its moving parts the.qualities of-the movement will vary with the amount of pressureexistingin the servicepipe. -Oonsequently it has heretofore been the custom tomake difierent valves to. meet different conditions and to test allvalves to see that they meet these conditions.

The main object of my invention is to make a valve so that withouttaking special pains with its construction or special consideration of.its friction and without the necessity of te'stingany valve or a numberof such valves may be taken indiscriminately from stock and maybe causedto work satisfactorily under tionorifline 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is 'apartial sectionsimilar to Fig.- 2, showing the. piston at its upperposition; and Fig. 5 is a'. partial -section 1on'line,5 5 of Fig. 1.

I Inthe said-drawings, A represents the -'upper portion of thevalve-body, and A the lower portion. These portions are of differentdiameters and the interiors are cylindrical and marked; respectively, Band B. The upper end of the cylinder A513 terminates in a valve-seatthat projects into the lower portion of'the upper cylinder A B. Withinthe larger cylinder is a piston P, having secured to its lower end ahollow projection P, which fits into the lower cylinder B.- Secured between the piston P and its projection P is a" packing P, which engagesthe. seat formed on the upper end'of the cylinder A B. Through the sidesof the projection P are a series of small apertures P which are located'a short distance below the lower face of the packing P In the bottom ofthe said proures P Pr ject ing from one side f .th

One of these adjustments, that other channel D adjacent to channel D, is

drilled through the boss 0 and terminates within the space B. C from theexterior is a hollow plug E, and in this plug E is a conical set-screwE. The upper end of the hollow plug E is coveredby a cap E The plug E isinserted in place before the channels D and D' are drilled. Consequentlythe said channels D and D communicate with the hollow portion of theplug E. The outer ends of the channels D and D are then plugged up, asshown in Fig. 2, so that the communication to said channels is only fromthe interior B or through a branch channel M, as hereinafter described.The channel D communicates with the interior of B by a short channel Dwhich terminates in a groove B cut in the cylinder B. The upper portionof the cylinder B is closed by a cap B". Adjacent to the channel D andon a level therewith is a second channel M, as shown in Fig. 3.Perpendicular to the channels M and D and on a line therewith there isdrilled an opening M, which connects the channel M with the interior ofthe plug E. The exterior portion of the opening M is then tapped out andthere is inserted a setscrew M and the opening is subsequently coveredby cap-screw M Located just below the projection O is a boss II, whichis transversely drilled and into the opposite sides of which are screwedthe plugs H and H The plug H is closed on the outside and therefore actsas a cap. The plug H has formed on its outer end a stuffing-box I1through which passes a handle I-I. One portion of the handle H is madesquare, as shown at Il and on the square portion is a lever I1 Beyondthe square portion II is secured a nut 11 which is the same diameter asthe handle I1. These various parts are so arranged that the plugs II andH may be inserted on either side of the boss II, and consequently thehandle II maybe either a righthand or left-hand lift, as it is desired.In the interior of the piston P there is a relief-valve F, carried on astem F and held in place by a nut F The stem F projects down through anopening in the piston P and its lower projection P and comes in linewith the lever H on the handle H". These parts are so arranged that ifthe lever be lifted by hand the relief-valve F will be raised from itsseat in the interior of the piston P and water in the cylinder B will bepermitted to pass through said piston into the cylinder B below.

In a condition of rest the flush-valve stands in the position shown inFig. 2. In this case Screwed into the boss the pressure of theservice-pipe exists in the opening 0 and communicates through thechannels M hi, the interior of E, D, D, and D to the chamber B over thepiston P. This pressure on top of the piston P holds it firmly on itsseat and prevents a flow of water from the service-pipe through thecylinder B to the closet-bowl. When it is desired to operate the valve,the handle is moved to raise the relief-valve F. This provides anopening from the chamber B downward of greater area than the area ofsupply through the channels between the chamber O and the chamber B. Asa consequence the pressure over the top of the piston is relieved. Byvirtue of the fact that the area of the piston is greater than the areaof its seat there is an annular pressure on said piston, which causes itto rise as fast as the water flows from the chamber B downward to thechamber B. When the valve is moved to its extreme upper position, asshown in Fig. 4, there is then a full and free flow of water from C toB. The area of inlet at C is somewhat greater than the area of outlet atB, and in consequence there is maintained in C a surplus pressure ofwater greater than would exist if the two channels were of equal area.Under the piston when at its upper position this pressure exists onlythrough the annular portion previously mentioned and is reduced tonearly nothing at the central portion of the piston over the cylinder B.In this condition there is a flow of water from the inlet-chamber G intothe inner end of the chamber D up through the interior of the plug E into the channel D, thence through Dand D into the groove B and from thesaid groove through a small notch P in the upper portion of the cylinderP. This flow of water produces on the upper face of the piston apressure equal to that within the inlet-chamber O, and as this flowcontinues the piston will descend from its higher position. The area ofthis channel is regulated by the set-screw E and is adjusted so that theflow through the said channels will cause a comparatively rapid downwardmovement of the piston P until the edge of said piston laps and coversthe inner end of the channel D. When this occurs, the full flow throughthe channel D cannot occur, and the only communication with the chamber0 to the channel D is through the auxiliary channels M and M into theinterior of the plug, and thence to the channel I). Ordinarily thesetscrew h 2 is adjusted very close to its seat, so that this flow ofwater will be very slight, and consequently the piston will movedownward very slowly. Just previous to the lapping of the port D by thepiston P the projection I enters the upper end of the cylinder B, shutting off the full flow from C to B. When this occurs, the flow of wateris only such as will be permitted to pass through the openings P and P.These openings are made small or relatively small, so that the amountIIO of water passing through them will be enough to seal the trap of thecloset-bowl, and consists of what is technically termed afterflow. Therequirement of an afterflow is that it should be of a volume less thanwill flush the trap, but of a volume sufficient to seal it. The slowdownward movement due tothe adjustment of the screw M continues untilthe descent of the piston causes the ports P to be lapped by enteringthe upper portion of the cylinder B. As long as there is a full flow ofwater from O to B the amount of pres-j sure within 0 is considerablyreduced by virtue of that flow. When the projection P enters thecylinder B, the fiow from O to B is reduced, and consequently thepressure is somewhat increased within 0 and on the annular spaceuponwhich there is an upward pressure of water on the piston'P. When thepiston descends far-enough for the ports I? to,

be lappedand c10sed,the pressure in the chamber O, and consequently theannular pressure on the piston is still further-increased, so that themovement after the lapping of the said ports P is slower than beforethesaid ports were lapped. Asa consequence the terminal,

portion of the closing movement isexceedingly slow. The adjustment ofthe screw M will be determined in each case 'by the pressure 7 of waterinthe service-pipe on the one hand and by the normal or natural frictionof the piston P on the other hand. For very high pressures the screw Mmaybe practically set against its seat, so thatthere would belittle flowto the port D except whatwould pass byleakage around the piston P to theport D For very low pressures the screw M will be moved outward, soas toallow ailarger area for the flow of water through the channels 7 sMatters herein shown and described relatin g to regulating andtoretardingthe closing movement of the piston, to the maintenance of auniform afterflow during a portion of the closing movement, and tothearrangement ofpassage-ways for water arenot herein claimed,

as they form subject-matter of my copending application, Serial No.714,7 81, filed April 28,.

1899. The matter relating-to the shutting 01f of the afterflow prior tothe final closing ac tion of the valve,which isihe rein shownanddescribed but not claimed,-formsthe subjectmatter of my cop ndingapplication, Serial No.-27,359, filed August 20, 1900. 1

.What I 'claim is- 1. In a flush-valve, the combination with a pistonfor opening and closing said valve,and an inclosin g chamber provided:with-waterpassagesleading to both sides of said piston and-so arrangedthatthepassage leading to one side is normally open and the, passageleading to the other side. is partiallyclosed during the closingmovement of said piston;

vclosed by the said piston at a predetermined point in its closingmovement, of an indeo pendently-adj ustable device in each passage- (wayfor regulating the flow of water through the said passage-ways. i

3. In a flush-valve, a piston arranged'toopen and close said valve, anadjustable ,de-

vice formegulating the speed of the closing f movement of said piston,means for automat= ically retarding the latter part of said closing;-movement, and a second adjustable device, for regulating the amount ofsuchretarda tion. 7

4. In a fiush-valve'adapted to permit a flow of water from aservice-pipeto a closet-bowh; avalve-body-provided with passagerway for waterwhereby the pressure of water insaid service-pipe operates to close saidvalve,a,

movable piston arranged to open and close said valve, meanswherebyitheclosing movementof said; piston operates to cl osethe inletto said passage-way so as to cause a retarda= tion of :the valve-closingmovement and -an adjustable device whereby theamount of such retardationmaybe regulated opened. and closed by water-pressure, the combina-.

5. In a flush-valve adapted to be tion with a piston arranged tobetmoved- :by

Ibo

such pressureso as to cause such openingandclosing, and a valve-body inwhich said -pis-- ton operates, said valve-body beingprovided withpassage-ways through ,which the waterpressure acts to close saidvalveand said pas sage-ways-being located so as to'be closed-bysaidpiston before the closing of: the, valve,- of means, for permittingwater. to flow-to said, passage-way froma different point, and means a Ifor regulating the amount 50f .the; lastsmen- -tioned-fiow. V SignedatChicago, Illinois, this 25th-da'yof; May, 1901. v a.

' .JAMES JaFlNNEY. i Witnesses: 1 a1 WM. A. RO LAND, 1 p O. L,REDFI-ELD;

